diff --git a/cmd/tailscale/cli/netcheck.go b/cmd/tailscale/cli/netcheck.go
index 95ba5ccfd..f430414eb 100644
--- a/cmd/tailscale/cli/netcheck.go
+++ b/cmd/tailscale/cli/netcheck.go
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func runNetcheck(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	}
 	for {
 		t0 := time.Now()
-		report, err := c.GetReport(ctx, dm)
+		report, err := c.GetReport(ctx, dm, nil)
 		d := time.Since(t0)
 		if netcheckArgs.verbose {
 			c.Logf("GetReport took %v; err=%v", d.Round(time.Millisecond), err)
diff --git a/health/health.go b/health/health.go
index 92fa01e7d..c040b8b03 100644
--- a/health/health.go
+++ b/health/health.go
@@ -360,6 +360,8 @@ func SetDERPRegionHealth(region int, problem string) {
 	selfCheckLocked()
 }
 
+// NoteDERPRegionReceivedFrame is called to note that a frame was received from
+// the given DERP region at the current time.
 func NoteDERPRegionReceivedFrame(region int) {
 	mu.Lock()
 	defer mu.Unlock()
@@ -367,6 +369,15 @@ func NoteDERPRegionReceivedFrame(region int) {
 	selfCheckLocked()
 }
 
+// GetDERPRegionReceivedTime returns the last time that a frame was received
+// from the given DERP region, or the zero time if no communication with that
+// region has occurred.
+func GetDERPRegionReceivedTime(region int) time.Time {
+	mu.Lock()
+	defer mu.Unlock()
+	return derpRegionLastFrame[region]
+}
+
 // state is an ipn.State.String() value: "Running", "Stopped", "NeedsLogin", etc.
 func SetIPNState(state string, wantRunning bool) {
 	mu.Lock()
diff --git a/net/netcheck/netcheck.go b/net/netcheck/netcheck.go
index 1c2b58853..0cea345c3 100644
--- a/net/netcheck/netcheck.go
+++ b/net/netcheck/netcheck.go
@@ -523,6 +523,8 @@ func nodeMight4(n *tailcfg.DERPNode) bool {
 // reportState holds the state for a single invocation of Client.GetReport.
 type reportState struct {
 	c           *Client
+	start       time.Time
+	opts        *GetReportOpts
 	hairTX      stun.TxID
 	gotHairSTUN chan netip.AddrPort
 	hairTimeout chan struct{} // closed on timeout
@@ -736,10 +738,32 @@ func newReport() *Report {
 	}
 }
 
-// GetReport gets a report.
+// GetReportOpts contains options that can be passed to GetReport. Unless
+// specified, all fields are optional and can be left as their zero value.
+type GetReportOpts struct {
+	// GetLastDERPActivity is a callback that, if provided, should return
+	// the absolute time that the calling code last communicated with a
+	// given DERP region. This is used to assist in avoiding PreferredDERP
+	// ("home DERP") flaps.
+	//
+	// If no communication with that region has occurred, or it occurred
+	// too far in the past, this function should return the zero time.
+	GetLastDERPActivity func(int) time.Time
+}
+
+// getLastDERPActivity calls o.GetLastDERPActivity if both o and
+// o.GetLastDERPActivity are non-nil; otherwise it returns the zero time.
+func (o *GetReportOpts) getLastDERPActivity(region int) time.Time {
+	if o == nil || o.GetLastDERPActivity == nil {
+		return time.Time{}
+	}
+	return o.GetLastDERPActivity(region)
+}
+
+// GetReport gets a report. The 'opts' argument is optional and can be nil.
 //
 // It may not be called concurrently with itself.
-func (c *Client) GetReport(ctx context.Context, dm *tailcfg.DERPMap) (_ *Report, reterr error) {
+func (c *Client) GetReport(ctx context.Context, dm *tailcfg.DERPMap, opts *GetReportOpts) (_ *Report, reterr error) {
 	defer func() {
 		if reterr != nil {
 			metricNumGetReportError.Add(1)
@@ -763,8 +787,11 @@ func (c *Client) GetReport(ctx context.Context, dm *tailcfg.DERPMap) (_ *Report,
 		c.mu.Unlock()
 		return nil, errors.New("invalid concurrent call to GetReport")
 	}
+	now := c.timeNow()
 	rs := &reportState{
 		c:           c,
+		start:       now,
+		opts:        opts,
 		report:      newReport(),
 		inFlight:    map[stun.TxID]func(netip.AddrPort){},
 		hairTX:      stun.NewTxID(), // random payload
@@ -783,8 +810,6 @@ func (c *Client) GetReport(ctx context.Context, dm *tailcfg.DERPMap) (_ *Report,
 		preferredDERP = last.PreferredDERP
 	}
 
-	now := c.timeNow()
-
 	doFull := false
 	if c.nextFull || now.Sub(c.lastFull) > 5*time.Minute {
 		doFull = true
@@ -1022,7 +1047,7 @@ func (c *Client) finishAndStoreReport(rs *reportState, dm *tailcfg.DERPMap) *Rep
 	report := rs.report.Clone()
 	rs.mu.Unlock()
 
-	c.addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(report, dm.View())
+	c.addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(rs, report, dm.View())
 	c.logConciseReport(report, dm)
 
 	return report
@@ -1363,11 +1388,15 @@ const (
 	// node is near region 1 @ 4ms and region 2 @ 5ms, region 1 getting
 	// 5ms slower would cause a flap).
 	preferredDERPAbsoluteDiff = 10 * time.Millisecond
+	// preferredDERPFrameTime is the time which, if a DERP frame has been
+	// received within that period, we treat that region as being present
+	// even without receiving a STUN response.
+	preferredDERPFrameTime = 2 * time.Second
 )
 
 // addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP adds r to the set of recent Reports
 // and mutates r.PreferredDERP to contain the best recent one.
-func (c *Client) addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(r *Report, dm tailcfg.DERPMapView) {
+func (c *Client) addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(rs *reportState, r *Report, dm tailcfg.DERPMapView) {
 	c.mu.Lock()
 	defer c.mu.Unlock()
 
@@ -1441,7 +1470,23 @@ func (c *Client) addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(r *Report, dm tailcfg.DERPM
 	// still accessible and one of the conditions below is true.
 	keepOld := false
 	changingPreferred := prevDERP != 0 && r.PreferredDERP != prevDERP
-	oldRegionIsAccessible := oldRegionCurLatency != 0
+
+	// See if we've heard from our previous preferred DERP (other than via
+	// the STUN probe) since we started the netcheck, or in the past 2s, as
+	// another signal for "this region is still working".
+	heardFromOldRegionRecently := false
+	if changingPreferred {
+		if lastHeard := rs.opts.getLastDERPActivity(prevDERP); !lastHeard.IsZero() {
+			now := c.timeNow()
+
+			heardFromOldRegionRecently = lastHeard.After(rs.start)
+			heardFromOldRegionRecently = heardFromOldRegionRecently || lastHeard.After(now.Add(-preferredDERPFrameTime))
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The old region is accessible if we've heard from it via a non-STUN
+	// mechanism, or have a latency (and thus heard back via STUN).
+	oldRegionIsAccessible := oldRegionCurLatency != 0 || heardFromOldRegionRecently
 	if changingPreferred && oldRegionIsAccessible {
 		// bestAny < any other value, so oldRegionCurLatency - bestAny >= 0
 		if oldRegionCurLatency-bestAny < preferredDERPAbsoluteDiff {
diff --git a/net/netcheck/netcheck_test.go b/net/netcheck/netcheck_test.go
index 1ed728a00..80aa5a657 100644
--- a/net/netcheck/netcheck_test.go
+++ b/net/netcheck/netcheck_test.go
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func TestBasic(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	r, err := c.GetReport(ctx, stuntest.DERPMapOf(stunAddr.String()))
+	r, err := c.GetReport(ctx, stuntest.DERPMapOf(stunAddr.String()), nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ func TestWorksWhenUDPBlocked(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 250*time.Millisecond)
 	defer cancel()
 
-	r, err := c.GetReport(ctx, dm)
+	r, err := c.GetReport(ctx, dm, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -260,14 +260,21 @@ func TestAddReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		return r
 	}
+	mkLDAFunc := func(mm map[int]time.Time) func(int) time.Time {
+		return func(region int) time.Time {
+			return mm[region]
+		}
+	}
 	type step struct {
 		after time.Duration
 		r     *Report
 	}
+	startTime := time.Unix(123, 0)
 	tests := []struct {
 		name        string
 		steps       []step
 		homeParams  *tailcfg.DERPHomeParams
+		opts        *GetReportOpts
 		wantDERP    int // want PreferredDERP on final step
 		wantPrevLen int // wanted len(c.prev)
 	}{
@@ -394,17 +401,53 @@ func TestAddReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(t *testing.T) {
 			wantPrevLen: 1,
 			wantDERP:    1,
 		},
+		{
+			name: "saw_derp_traffic",
+			steps: []step{
+				{0, report("d1", 2, "d2", 3)},               // (1) initially pick d1
+				{2 * time.Second, report("d1", 4, "d2", 3)}, // (2) still d1
+				{2 * time.Second, report("d2", 3)},          // (3) d1 gone, but have traffic
+			},
+			opts: &GetReportOpts{
+				GetLastDERPActivity: mkLDAFunc(map[int]time.Time{
+					1: startTime.Add(2*time.Second + preferredDERPFrameTime/2), // within active window of step (3)
+				}),
+			},
+			wantPrevLen: 3,
+			wantDERP:    1, // still on 1 since we got traffic from it
+		},
+		{
+			name: "saw_derp_traffic_history",
+			steps: []step{
+				{0, report("d1", 2, "d2", 3)},               // (1) initially pick d1
+				{2 * time.Second, report("d1", 4, "d2", 3)}, // (2) still d1
+				{2 * time.Second, report("d2", 3)},          // (3) d1 gone, but have traffic
+			},
+			opts: &GetReportOpts{
+				GetLastDERPActivity: mkLDAFunc(map[int]time.Time{
+					1: startTime.Add(4*time.Second - preferredDERPFrameTime - 1), // not within active window of (3)
+				}),
+			},
+			wantPrevLen: 3,
+			wantDERP:    2, // moved to d2 since d1 is gone
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			fakeTime := time.Unix(123, 0)
+			fakeTime := startTime
 			c := &Client{
 				TimeNow: func() time.Time { return fakeTime },
 			}
 			dm := &tailcfg.DERPMap{HomeParams: tt.homeParams}
+			rs := &reportState{
+				c:     c,
+				start: fakeTime,
+				opts:  tt.opts,
+			}
 			for _, s := range tt.steps {
 				fakeTime = fakeTime.Add(s.after)
-				c.addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(s.r, dm.View())
+				rs.start = fakeTime.Add(-100 * time.Millisecond)
+				c.addReportHistoryAndSetPreferredDERP(rs, s.r, dm.View())
 			}
 			lastReport := tt.steps[len(tt.steps)-1].r
 			if got, want := len(c.prev), tt.wantPrevLen; got != want {
@@ -868,7 +911,7 @@ func TestNoCaptivePortalWhenUDP(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	r, err := c.GetReport(ctx, stuntest.DERPMapOf(stunAddr.String()))
+	r, err := c.GetReport(ctx, stuntest.DERPMapOf(stunAddr.String()), nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/wgengine/magicsock/magicsock.go b/wgengine/magicsock/magicsock.go
index 537901cc0..ea4ebb05f 100644
--- a/wgengine/magicsock/magicsock.go
+++ b/wgengine/magicsock/magicsock.go
@@ -628,7 +628,17 @@ func (c *Conn) updateNetInfo(ctx context.Context) (*netcheck.Report, error) {
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 2*time.Second)
 	defer cancel()
 
-	report, err := c.netChecker.GetReport(ctx, dm)
+	report, err := c.netChecker.GetReport(ctx, dm, &netcheck.GetReportOpts{
+		// Pass information about the last time that we received a
+		// frame from a DERP server to our netchecker to help avoid
+		// flapping the home region while there's still active
+		// communication.
+		//
+		// NOTE(andrew-d): I don't love that we're depending on the
+		// health package here, but I'd rather do that and not store
+		// the exact same state in two different places.
+		GetLastDERPActivity: health.GetDERPRegionReceivedTime,
+	})
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}